Chapter 104 : Home, Unchanged in Three Years

Hae-jin, who had been watching Lee Chae’s expression from the side, smirked.

“If you’re already this moved, you’re going to be crying later.”

“What does that mean?”

“Why don’t we go up and see for yourself?”

Lee Chae followed obediently as Hae-jin led him inside and onto the elevator. As soon as the doors opened at their floor, Lee Chae covered his eyes as if he’d seen something he shouldn’t have and turned to Hae-jin.

“What? You think I’m going to be moved by that?”

“What? … You crazy b*stards!”

Hae-jin gritted his teeth and stormed out of the elevator. Jae-hyung and Yong-yong, who were tangled together in a single mass on the sofa, turned white as ghosts and froze mid-act.

“Eek!”

“Th-that, uh……. I mean, it’s not what it looks like. You saw wrong, Hyung……. Ah, f*ck.”

“What do you think you’re doing in the living room when there are perfectly good bedrooms?”

Hae-jin’s furious shouting echoed through the air. Thinking the situation was mostly settled, Lee Chae started to look toward them, but a large hand blocked his view.

“Don’t look yet. They’re still putting their clothes on. Hurry up, will you?!”

At Hae-jin’s thunderous command, Jae-hyung gathered his clothes with lightning speed and dragged the frozen Yong-yong into a room. Yong-yong was so petrified he couldn’t even twitch a finger.

Hae-jin finally lowered his hand. Lee Chae, unable to hold back his laughter any longer, threw his head back and laughed.

“So Jae-hyung’s unrequited love finally succeeded. Wow, how touching.”

“Touching, my foot. They’re like cockroaches……”

“By the way, where does Yong-yong live? Has he been living here with you this whole time, Hyung?”

Hae-jin scowled as if just thinking about it irritated him.

“As if Jae-hyung would ever let the two of us live alone.”

“Huh? He lives with his family, so how did he bring him here?”

“No! He packed his bags and moved out. To live here with the two of us.”

Lee Chae laughed even harder. When he had left this place, things were so chaotic that he hadn’t been able to take care of Yong-yong. After some time had passed, he felt a bit guilty, like he had abandoned a pet dragonling, but knowing how much Jae-hyung adored Yong-yong, he trusted he’d take good care of him.

Hae-jin pulled on Lee Chae’s arm, annoyed.

“You’re laughing right now? After you ran away and dumped that dragon brat on me!”

“Uh, I’m sorry. I thought since Jae-hyung liked him, it wouldn’t be a big deal, but I didn’t think you’d end up bearing the brunt of it. Still, I think it worked out for the best. You wouldn’t have been as lonely.”

“I wonder about that.”

At the voice thick with dissatisfaction, Lee Chae began to wander slowly through the house to change the subject. The scenery was so familiar it felt as if he had just been there yesterday, and he looked around as if possessed.

‘It’s been three years, but……’

Legion was strangely unchanged. Even though three people were living there, the space that had been used as a meeting room hadn’t even been converted into a bedroom.

‘Were they too busy to renovate?’

But it felt more than just that; the lack of change was so absolute it almost felt eerie.

The leather sofa, the dining table, the bed, and the rugs—all the furniture at Legion remained in their original spots, preserving the traces Lee Chae had left behind. Seeing that gave him a complex feeling he couldn’t put into words.

“Why……”

He took a deep breath to suppress the rising surge of emotion.

“Come here.”

At those words, he turned his head to see Hae-jin wrapping an arm around his shoulders with a mischievous smile. After a light kiss on his forehead, Hae-jin grabbed Lee Chae’s wrist and led him into his bedroom.

“Wait, Hyung……”

Hae-jin’s room was practically plastered with photos of Lee Chae—photos he didn’t even know had been taken.

In the photos, he was walking blankly across the campus, laughing brightly on a yacht, or sleeping face-down at a desk. Some photos didn’t even show his face; they were close-ups of his neck where the imprint mark was clearly visible, or just his hands and feet.

He couldn’t even remember when most of them were taken, and there were so many he couldn’t count them all. What had Hae-jin been thinking while printing out photos taken on a phone, framing them, and hanging them on the wall? Lee Chae clenched his fists and bit his lip to keep from breaking down.

“Wow, I look so ugly.”

“Don’t insult my lover.”

At Hae-jin’s joking remark, Lee Chae finally crumbled. Everything Hae-jin had done from the moment he saw the contract until now kept poking at the guilt buried deep in his heart.

“I endured by looking at these photos. Every day, I vowed that I would meet you again no matter what……. That’s how I survived. I’m glad I’m alive. If I had been pessimistic and done something stupid, it would have been a disaster…… Ow! Hey! You still haven’t fixed that habit!”

Lee Chae gave Hae-jin’s thigh a sharp pinch, his face a mess of laughter and tears. Even so, Hae-jin just smiled.

“Now it finally feels real. You used to hit me back then too, whenever I said I’d get hurt or die.”

Finding Hae-jin adorable as he rubbed his thigh—even though it didn’t really hurt—Lee Chae hugged him tight and whispered.

“How long are you going to keep talking nonsense? Didn’t you say we were going to imprint? Isn’t it urgent?”

Hae-jin flashed a strange smile and was about to lift Lee Chae up when the door burst open and Yong-yong appeared.

“Co-Collateral! I missed you!”

Yong-yong approached Lee Chae with teary eyes. Lee Chae let go of Hae-jin and hugged Yong-yong.

“Yong-yong, have you been well?”

“Yeah, yeah! I’ve been good. What about Collateral?”

“I’ve been good too.”

Yong-yong rubbed his cheek against Lee Chae’s like a puppy reuniting with its owner.

‘It’s like a reunion of war-torn families.’

The faces of Hae-jin and Jae-hyung, who were watching the two, crumpled into messy scowls at the same time. Feeling the chilly gaze, Lee Chae gently pried Yong-yong off him.

“Um, Yong-yong. You can’t do this.”

“Why not! That’s so mean!”

“After doing that with Jae-hyung, doing this to me…… mmpf.”

Yong-yong, his cheeks turning bright red, covered Lee Chae’s mouth.

“It wasn’t anything like that! I said it wasn’t!”

Yong-yong repeated the same thing about five times until Lee Chae nodded, only then letting go of his mouth. Jae-hyung pouted and said:

“I’ll let it slide since it’s been a while. Let’s go out and have a party. I’ve got the barbecue ready on the roof.”

“Jae-hyung bought so much meat. Just for Collateral! Let’s go!”

Lee Chae looked at Hae-jin with an awkward expression. His eyebrows were arched high. Lee Chae sighed and said to Jae-hyung:

“Go ahead and start grilling. We’ll be out in just a bit.”

Jae-hyung, seemingly noticing Hae-jin’s icy expression, took Yong-yong and left without a word. Once they were alone, a heavy air settled in the room. Looking at Hae-jin, it was clear he was angry. Lee Chae thought it was perfectly normal to share a hug after a long time apart…… He wondered if this was really something to get that mad about.

“Jung Lee Chae.”

The voice that had been soft enough to melt just moments ago was suddenly sharp. Feeling it was unfair but deciding not to fight on the first day of their dramatic reunion, Lee Chae took Hae-jin’s hand. The fact that he was sulking but didn’t pull his hand away was actually a little cute.

“Yes, I know. You’re mad, right?”

Hae-jin looked at Lee Chae with an expression that said, ‘What kind of trick is this now?’

“I’m sorry. I just felt so guilty toward Yong-yong. I’m the one who brought him here, and I didn’t take care of him at all. I’ll be careful from now on.”

“Who said it was because of that?”

It was because of something else?

After thinking for a moment, Lee Chae said, “Ah,” and pulled Hae-jin into an embrace by the waist. He realized Hae-jin was probably frustrated because he had lured him in with the promise of imprinting and then hadn’t done anything. He thought Hae-jin might have changed, but how could he be exactly the same? Then again, they say if a person changes, they die.

“I want to do it too. But we just did it in the office earlier—”

“Why bring that up again?”

Hae-jin cleared his throat and hugged Lee Chae. Lee Chae was surprised at how easily he gave in. He guessed Hae-jin must have felt a bit guilty about what he’d done in the office. Burying his face in Hae-jin’s chest, Lee Chae giggled quietly so as not to be caught, then said soothingly:

“Since we told them to start grilling, let’s go eat and come back in 30 minutes. I’m hungry.”

“Well, I guess it can’t be helped.”

Hae-jin leaned in for a soft kiss. Lee Chae willingly met his lips.

A barbecue party was held on the roof. Jae-hyung, who was flipping meat with tongs, spotted the two arriving late and said they’d come at the perfect time as he piled meat onto a plate. Yong-yong’s lips were already shiny with grease, having clearly eaten a lot already.

Lee Chae took a seat next to Hae-jin. He hadn’t even thought about eating because he’d been tense all day, but seeing the meat made him suddenly ravenous. So, Lee Chae accepted and ate every piece of meat Jae-hyung gave him. After about five helpings, his hunger was somewhat satiated. He happened to glance sideways and made eye contact with Hae-jin, who wasn’t eating his own meat but was just staring at Lee Chae’s face.

“Why aren’t you eating? Hurry up and eat. You haven’t eaten all day either, have you, Hyung?”

Hae-jin just smiled at that. Seeing how much thinner he was compared to before made Lee Chae’s heart ache. Lee Chae moved the meat Hae-jin had placed on his plate back to Hae-jin’s plate. At that, Jae-hyung, who was grilling, chimed in.

“He barely ate while you were gone, Sister-in-law. He wouldn’t listen no matter how much we told him to eat. Jin-woo Hyung and I were so worried he was going to die.”

Hae-jin playfully placed a piece of lettuce on top of Jae-hyung’s head. It was clear he was doing it out of embarrassment.

“Stop exaggerating. How can a person live without eating? I ate. Don’t you know protein shakes have enough nutrition?”

As he spoke, Hae-jin moved his portion of meat back to Lee Chae’s plate. Even though the plate was already full of cooked meat, Hae-jin kept repeating the same action.

“Hyung, get a grip. Why are you just staring at my face instead of eating?”

“I’m perfectly fine.”

Lee Chae made a lettuce wrap with meat and forced it into Hae-jin’s mouth. Hae-jin, who had been dazed, grinned and ate it.

“Ha, being a guide is so exhausting. I even have to spoon-feed my Esper.”

Yong-yong, who had been sitting quietly, suddenly jumped up. Then, he built a tower of meat and placed it on Lee Chae’s plate.

“Whoa! The Captain eats so well because Collateral gave it to him! Collateral! Feed the Captain a lot. The Captain is a pitiful person. In return, I’ll feed you, Collateral!”

Lee Chae smiled and opened his mouth.

While they were apart, even the most delicious food felt like chewing on paper, but now, everything he ate tasted wonderful.

Lee Chae looked around at the three of them and thought: the things that don’t change over time are the small habits you show each other, the trust built through living together, and the untainted purity of a dragon.

Feeling as though he had returned to his true family, Lee Chae’s heart felt more at peace than ever before.